Construction begins on 50K-square-foot mental health building in Holly Township

By
Monica Drake, The Oakland Press

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

When Dan and Rosemary Kelly’s son was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, they tried to find a rehabilitation center in Michigan that would help him live a normal life.
And, since the Bloomfield Hills couple couldn’t find a center they considered suitable for their son’s care, they decided to create their own.
Now, 21 years later, the state-licensed Rose Hill Center in Holly Township has served more than 1,200 residents diagnosed with mental illness. And on Wednesday, the couple, their son John and CEO Ben Robinson of Rochester broke ground on a $2.5 million addition to the facility, located on the 412-acre site.
Approximately 300 donors contributed to make this a possibility with a remaining $200,000 needed to meet their goal.
The addition will include a 50,000-square-foot visitors center and administration building, a new campus entrance, a horticulture area, an indoor fitness center, an examining room and an infirmary area — expected to be completed by spring 2014.
“(The new building) will house most of our business office staff. ... It will allow us to return the (existing) building, the Kelly Community Center, to all private rooms,” said Robinson, who has worked as president of the center for six years.
Robinson said these changes will increase exercise opportunities, improve the center's ability to treat medical issues and heighten the resident's living experience by creating private rooms.
The center offers financial assistance and possible grant opportunities for interested residents of the facility.
People come from all over the country to receive care at the Rose Hill Center. Robinson said 40 percent of people served last year were from 15 states other than Michigan — including Alaska.
Dan said, “We've been told by psychiatrists that it's the best rehab center of its kind in the country.”
The capacity of residents living on site at a time is 76 and the average length of stay is nine months. The center offers rehabilitation services, transitional apartment living and extended residential care.
Rosemary said, “Many of our residents come to us who don't have friendships. They have now been able to make friendships. John didn't have a lot of friends other than his family. Since being here at Rose Hill, he now has over 1,200 friends.”
Dan said that the goal of the center is for the individuals to not only understand their illness and have their medication stabilized, but to have a future plan. He added that many of the former residents have gone back to college, been hired at profitable jobs and have purchased homes after their stay at the center.
“Serious mental illness can be treated, and people can get better and live very happy lives. There are people out there who think mentally ill people are worthless. But that’s just not true at all,” said Dan.
Rosemary said there's a stigma against mental illness. She said the media reports on mentally ill people harming others — and she stressed that this is few and far between.
“The people we care for are normal human beings who need help from a brain disorder,” she said.